Improvement in construction of walls of buildings



' kIhvrrsn STATES PATENT Irrsinn,...

STILLMAN A. OLEMENS, OF ROOKFORD, ILLINOIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,290, dated February4, 1862.

To all whom Yit may concern:

of Rockford, in the county of Vinnebago, in the State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and Improved Mode of Constructing the Walls of Buildingsand other Structures; and I do' hereby declare that the following is afull and exact-description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l isa plan, and Fig. 2 anelevation, of a quadrangular structure, shown partly erected. Fig. 3 isa plan, and Fig. 4 is an elevation, of a corner Vor" a wall in which thelath structure is combined with a frame. Fig. 5 is a plan, and Fig. 6 anelevation, of another mode of combining the lath structureV with aframe. Fig. 7 is a plan, and Fig. 8 an elevation, of a section of thewall, showing the usual mode of attaching the ends of the joists andsupporting them in the wall; and Fig. 9 is an elevation of a portion ofa combined wall in one of the forms, showing the mode of attaching thestuds to the joists.

The same letters refer to similar parts in allthe figures unlessotherwise specially designated.

My invention consists, first, in making a skeleton wall of a building orother structure wholly or in part of lath or other narrow strips ofwood, which are laid iiatwise upon any suitable foundation and carriedup in two or more parallel tiers, the successive layers of lath beingseparated from each other by the interposition of cross pieces or tiesof the same material, which, being laidk across at regular intervals,also secure together the parallel and vertical tiers of lathandgivestrength to the structure by being laid in mortar or secured `bynails to the wall-lath at the points of intersection. The skeleton Wallthus made, having been carried up to any desired height, is plasteredwithin Vand without as common lathed walls are plastered, the spacebetween the plastered tiers of lath forming what is called a hollow orchambered wall; or it may be filled with concrete or any coarse mortarapplied during the lconstruction of the lath-work to give greatersolidity to the wall. When three or more vertical tiers oflath areformed in the construction ofthe wall, making two or more parallelchambered spaces within it, one of the latter may be filled with y y tmortar, concrete, or other material, and the Beit known that I, STILLMANA. OLEMENs,

other chambered space or spaces may be left vacant, together realizingthe effects of solidity and the non-conducting influence of the hollowspace; also, the structure of a skeleton wall of lath-work, as hereindescribed, may be combined with a frame of studs and posts in Variousways and plastered within and without. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figs. l an 2 represent a quadrangularstructure, illustrating modes of making a skeleton wall of lath andmortar or of lath secured by nails, dro. Upon any suitable foundationlath or other strips of wood d a a are laiil flatwise in mortar, inparallel rows, and upon these cross- 1 pieces b b are placed, eachembedded in a thin layer of mortar placed on a c at the intersectingpoints. At the corners the ends of the lath in the rows are laid withthe ends of the layers of lath on one side crossing and interlockinglwith the ends of the lath on the adjacent side, as represented at c c c,the crossing ends being embedded in mortar, as in the case of thecross-ties b b. Upon the cross-ties b b and' upon the ends of the lath cc c c c mortaris placed, and upon this lath are again laid, and so on,alternately-dam, mortar, cross-ties, mortar, and lath again, asrepresented in Fig. 2. The lath in each tier are placed vertically oneabove the other, and are Vdistant from each other about one inch, whichis determined by the space occupied vertically by each cross-tie and thethin layers of mortar above and below it. In this way the mortarinterposed between the surfaces of wood at the points of intersection-becomes the binding material of the skeleton wall, of which the lathmaybe designated as constituting the ribs, and the plastering to besubsequently applied standing for the flesh and skin.

The ties I) b are cut from latli, and are ot' a length corresponding tothe thickness of the wall, as shown at b2, Fig. l. Theseties are carriedup in vert-ical rows, which are at such distances from each other as isconvenient in respect to the length of thelathorstrips used for thelongitudinal tiers or for the support of the window and door frames, andmore especially to afford, with the mortar intervening between the tiesof each row, solid co1- umns of support, upon which the ends of thefioor-joists may rest. The vertical rows of cross-ties may consisteither of single pieces, one above the other, embedded in mortar, as atb, or of two pieces side by side in each layer, as at b b, which lastform is used when an unusually strong column of support is required forthe ends of the fioor-joists above. The ends of the joists for thefloors of the building are formed and inserted in the same way as isusual in brick walls, the ends of the joist not passing entirely throughthe wall, but only coming up to the outmost tier of lath and restingdirectly upon t-he vertical column of ties and mortar. This isrepresented by Figs. 7 and 8, in which d is a joist resting upon thecolumn of cross-ties e. Between lthe ties the inner vertical tier ortiers (as the case may be) of lath are carried up in line by cuttingpieces of lath to fit the dist-ance between the joists and laying tiesand mortar each side of the end of each joist, as shown at f f, Fig.8,between thelayers of the longitudinal tiers alternately, as described.The structure is thus carried to the level of the top of the joist, whenthe Vertical column of cross-ties is carried up directly over the joistin line with its direction below, as also shown in Fig. 8. The ends ofthe joists may be anchored in the wall by nailing short and narrowstrips of plank g', Figs. 7 and 8, vertically to one side of the end ofeach joist in such a position that the ends of the anchorstrips shallextend above and below into the space between the tiers of wall-lath,and when the anchor-strips are used the ties f are laid against the sideof the strip g in building up between the joist, as shown in Figs. 7 and8.

A window or door frame is represented at (l, which is built into thelath and mortar wall, as is usual in building of brick or stone. Theends of the wall-lath as they are laid up against the sides of theWindow or door frame are secured to it by' small nails driven obliquely-through them into the lath; or the frame may be secured in the wall bynailing upon each side of the frame a narrow strip of plank of a widthcorresponding to the distance between the tiers of wall-lath,andl theends of the lath being laid each side of the frame-strips and abuttingagainst the frame, and the adjoining rows of ties bei-ng carried up nextthe sides of the strips, (in a mode similar to the ties f to theanchor-strip g', Figs. 7 and 8,) before described, the frame of the dooror window is securely fixed in its place.

The skeleton wall of lath-work may be made with two parallel tiers ofwall-lath, as a, a, or with three, Vas c c c, or even more than threemay be used for extraordinary purposes. The space or spaces g g betweenthe tiers of lath are suitably made three inches in width; but thedimensions may be varied, according 1o circumstances and the choice ofthe builder. For cellar and foundation Walls it is found advisable tofill the space between the two tiers 0f lath with coarse-gravel mortar,which is applied as the wall goes up, the tiers of lath on each sideconstituting the containing-walls of the mortar. This mode of fillingthe hollow space in the wall is shown in Fig. 1,where e represents themortar filling lying in the space between the parallel tiers ofWall-lath a a. This mode of construction may also be advantageouslyemployed to make a fencew'all, and also for military fortifications, asthe thickness of the wall may be increased to any extent, and thechambered spaces between the tiers of wall-lath may be multiplied atpleasure and filled with clay, earth, mortar, or grout-work, or bylaying the lath so as to form a ground system of quadrangular spaces andfilling them alternately with mortar, dac., and leaving alternate spacesvacant, the mortared portions of the fortification-wall will acquiregreater solidity from the access of air, which would not be the case ifa solid mortar structure of great thickness were made. For commonbuilding purposes it is found advisable to fill the space in the Wallwith coarse mortar to a height a few inches above the level of the firstfioor and above this to leave the space g in the Wall vacant to securethe well-known advantages of a hollow or chambered wall. This chamberedspace g is thus continuous in a vertical direction, or is, rather, arange of chambered spaces separated by the columns of cross-ties b and bb, dre., each of which extends the entire height of the wall unlessinterrupted by the Window or door frames,\&c., lying in its line ofdirection. For building-walls when solidity is regarded as of leadingimportance, the space g may be filled with mortar, duc., as seen at e,Fig. l. lidity with the advantages of the vacant space in the wall, thelatter may be made with three tiers of wall-lath, as seen at c c c, inwhich the outmost space f between two of the tiers of lath is filledwith mortar, dac., and the inner space g is =left vacant. The filling ofthe spaces f or e is; most conveniently done as the tiers of wall-lathare being laid up. The vertical space h is Vfilled wit-h mortar toadvantage in all cases, as thisv greatly increases the solidity and-strength of the corner of the structure. rllhe skeleton wall thusdescribed is plastered within and without in the usual way of plasteringcommon lathed walls. Portions ot' wall plastered are shown at t' i t.The plastermortar is best made yrather harder than for commonplastering, though this is not of indispensable importance, and beingforced through the interstices of the lath by the trowel ot' the workmanit forms a lock on the inside, and the mortar penetrating and fillingadjacent interstices of the lath in consequence of the thinness of thelatter the portion of mortarwhich comes through on the inside tends toconnect together and form a continuous sheet of plaster on the inside,which adds much to the permanency of the plastering and also to thegeneral strength of the wall. Furthermore, as the distance be- To securea combination of great so-v tween the lath is greater than is usual incommon lathing of house-walls, and the distance through which theplastermortar goes to form its lock on the inside is compared With thecommon way as the width of lath is to their thickness, the surfaceotplaster on the outside is more continuously and firmly attached than bythe old mode. -When the space within the tiers of lath is Iilled withmortar, &c., as described, the plastering-mortar penetrating'between thelath, as described, attaches itself to the mortar within, and thus hasmost favorable adhesion. When the space Within the skeleton Wall is notfilled with mortar, as represented at g, on the application of theplastering-m'ortar on the sides of the wall the spaces g g are inclosedand become close air-chambers, affording most favorably the Well-knownadvantages of nonconduction in respect to heat and moisture.

When lime and sand or gravel for mortar are difiicult to procure, claymortar may be used in part or throughout for laying up the lath, &c.,and for daubing or plastering, but of course with inferior results.

A mode of constructing an attached pilaster or buttress to the wall isshown at 7c. This is shown illed'with mortar to give solidity, and maybe used to give strength to a high wall, as for a church building, whichcannot be convenient-ly braced by partitions on the inside, or anymodifica-tion of this attachment may be employed forarchitecturaleffect, and the general principle of construction may also be used tomake pillars and other architectural devices.

The butt-ress 7c is represented as built up with the Wall, the lathforming two of its sides, crossing and interlocking with the lath of thewall like the cross-ties. The partitions between the apartments of -abuilding constructed in the way herein described may be built in thesame general way as the walls, being carried up at the same time withthe latter, and their lath crossing and interlocking with the wall-lathat the ends of the partitions the strength of the structure isincreased.

In constructing thefudescribed skeleton wall it is advisable to make theends of the lath or wooden strips abut against each other on differentrows of ties alternately,`and also alternately with the lath in the samelayers, as shown at Z Z. In this way the weakness which might arise frombringing the ends lof successive layers of lath on one line of closstiesis avoided by alternating distribution. Greater strength may be given tothe wall by shaping the contiguous ends of the lath so that they willlock one to the other, as is represented in two different ways at fm fm;but ior all ordinary purposes the lath-work is suficiently irm when theends are left square, as shown at Z Z.

' The method of construction above described may be modified andcombined with the parts 0f a common building in many ways and securingthe general objects of the invention in various degrees, according tocircumstances.

Instead of using mortar interposed between the adjacent surfaces of thewall, lath, and cross-ties, as described, the lath and ties may Vbe laidone upon the other with their surfaces in contact and nailed together,as represented at n, on one corner of the wall, Figs. 1 and 2. In thismodification of the mode of building, which in other respects is carriedout as before described,it is best to make the cross-ties of thickerstuff than common lath, or two thicknesses of lath may be used for eachtie, as shown at 0 0 0, Fig. 4.

In Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 parts of walls are shown, in which thedescribedskeleton lath-Work is represented as combined with parts of a commonframe of a building, of which p p are corner-posts and q q studs, thelatter placed at suitable distances apart to support the Window and doorframes and accommodate the general details of construction. These postsand studs are supposed to rest on foundation-sills. (Not shown in thedrawings.) The lath laid liatwise are represented at r r with theinterposed cross-ties s s s, as before described.

In Fig. 4 a portion of the lath structure at o is represented asplastered on the outside, and the lower part of the lath-Work at t isrepresented as having thin tie-pieces interposed between the lath, whilethe upper part at u u represents the tie-pieces as of greater thicknessor consisting oftwo thicknesses of cornmon lath laid together to formone tie-piece, as described above.

In Fig. the lower part of the lath-work at thas thin tie-pieces nailedto the wall-lath, as described, while the upper part u, Fig. 6,represents the lath and tie-pieces laid in interposed mortar, as beforedescribed.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the sections of lath-work between the studs q and theposts p are secured in their places by the batten and corner-post boardsw w, which are nailed, re-

spectively, to the outside of the corner-post p and to both the outsideand inside ot the studs q q. The battens on the studs and thecorner-boards on the posts extend about one inch outward at their edgeson each side from their attached studs or posts to embrace and securethe ends of the lath on both the outside and the inside of the wall, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the lath are represented as built up on the outside andinside of the corner-post p and the studs q q q, with the cross-tiesinterposed, as before described. When the posts and studs represented inFigs. 5 and 6 are erected upon their foundation-sills, the structure ofwall-lath and crossties may be carried up either with nails or mortar tosecure them together, and the same also with the intermediate lath-Work'represented in Figs. 3 and 4, in which, the corner and hatten boardsbeing made fast to their places, the intervening structure of lath andties may be put up, and in this instance by laying the lath andcross-ties in contact as for nailing, as elsewhere herein described, andputting a small quantity of mortar upon each cross-tie between the endsof the lath in each layer the mortar prevents the lath from being Theends of the tloor-joists are attached to.

the wall, as before described, resting either upon the column ofcross-ties of the lath-work, which are put at suitable distances apartfor this purpose, or the ends of the joists, or a part of them, restupon shoulders cut near the top of the studs for this purpose, as isrepresented in Fig. 9, in which a. is the top of the lower stud, andseen through the interstices of the outside tier of lath is the end of ajoist b', resting upon a shoulder of the stud a', and the foot on upperjoist c is also seen resting upon the top of the joist b. A part of theend of the stud a is left to project beyond the shoulder, and isconveniently nailed to the side of the joist b', with which it is incontact. The lower ends of the studs of the upper story are also securedto the joists at their lower ends in the same way.

In the modification represented in Figs. 3 and 4, the frame-work ofstuds and cornerposts being erected, the lath-work maybe built upon thespot, as described, or, the batten and corner boards being left olf onthe outside, the lathwork may be nailed together elsewhere inconvenient-sized blocks or sections of, say, one and a half feet inheight and of the proper thickness and the length suitable for thedistance between the studs and posts where they are designed to go.Being transported to the frame, these sections can be readily put intotheir places between the studs and posts, and the batten andcornerboards being nailed to their places, the lathwork of the wall is readyfor plastering, or the sections may be plastered with a first coatbefore laying them up in thewall. In like manner the lath-work, asdescribed, between the posts and studs in Figs. 5 and 6 maybe made intoblocks or sections of any convenient size in advance of the erection ofthe wall, the ends of the wall-lath or strips of the sections each beingmade so as to iit and embrace both the outside and the inside of thestud a part of the Width of the latter, as shown at y y, Fig. 6. In thismodification of the invention, the lath-work being nailed togetherbeforehand in blocks or sections of sizes suitable for the places wherethey are to go in the Wall, the erection is most conveniently made byrst setting up a corner-post p. Then the two corner tiers of lath-worksections are erected ers of lath in the sections on the two sides of thebuilding shall interlock the ends of the yone section lying upon thoseof the other side at right angles to it, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, andfor this purpose the ends of the lath in the' corner-sections are madeto project beyond the cross-ties, as shown at z, Fig. 6, somewhatfartherthan when they embrace the stud q at the other end. Other obviousexpediente for connecting the sections to the corner-posts can also beemployed. The corner-sections of lath-work having been erected to aheight suitable for one story, the adjacent studs q q are set into themortises prepared for them in the sills below, and are raised upright totheir places between the ends of the lathwork of the corner-sectionsmade to receive them, as described. Other tiers ot the sections oflath-work may be successively erected until the inclosure of the firststory of the building is completed, when a second story may be built upin the same way, the window and door frames being put in their places asthe work progresses.

In all cases provision is made for the support and attachment of theends of the floorjoists to the studs or over the vertical columns ofcross-ties between the studs, substantially as described, either bysections of the prepared lath-Work or parts thereof made for thispurpose, as represented in Figs. 7 and 8, or the lath-work may be builtup between the ends of the joist in the. like form on the spot, asbefore described. The sections or blocks of lath-work described may, atchoice, be plastered with a iirst coat of mortar before laying up in thewall, a portion of fresh mortar being applied at the junction of thecontiguous sections as they are put in their places.

At 0l', Fig. 5, is represented a mode of laying narrow strips of woodinside of the walllath which are to be plastered, the ends of the stripsresting upon the cross-ties the same as the lath and lying parallel andin the same layers with the latter and remo ved from their adjacent lathabout the distance ot' one-half of an inch. The chambered space in thewall- Iis somewhat narrowed by the presence of these secondary strips;butis not interrupted of its continuousness in a vertical direction. Thepurpose of the strips marked CZ is to support the plastering-mortarthrust through the spaces between the wall-lath and cause it to `form acontinuons sheet on the inside of the latter in the vertical line of thespace between the strips d and the wall-lath. Straw, hay, or any similarmaterial partly non-conducting of heat may be used also for the likepurpose with the strips d', the latten' however, being regarded as best,since,in addition to their preservation of the air-space,

they give additional strength to the wall independently of the mortarwhich they are used to support.

To secure the sides of the Wall of the building, which are parallel tothe direction of the floor-joists, it is recommended that cleats andstaying-strips be nailed to the sides of the joists adjacent to the walland made fast to the studs or anchored in the lath-work of the latter bypassing the stays through the interstices of the inside tier ofWall-lath. The sections may also be made with thelath standingvertically in the Wall.Y

The different modications of my invention herein specified may beinterchanged as is found convenient, and also other variations ot' thegeneral mode described may be employed. It is also obvious that thedimensions of the lath or strips of wood used in this mode ofconstruction may be varied at pleasure, though when mortar is used asthe binding material between the wall-lath and cross-ties breadth ofsurface like that aorded by common lath laid flatwise is desirable.

I am aware that walls of buildings have been made of narrow boards laidin tiers one above the other, separated by cross-pieces, and thealternate overlaying of the ends of the boards of the adjacent sides atthe corners and secured in their places by nailing, and the Wholeplastered on the edges of the boards, both inside and without; but thislnode of building differs essentially from my invention herein describedin respect to economy of material and the important par-v ticulars thatthe plastering cannot form a lock on the inside .to secure it fromfalling off from the wall, and there is no vertical space continuouslyfor any useful distance within the wall, which are favorably realized inmy invention and are of well-known importance in connection with commonmodes of building. Nor do I claim the combination of lath and mortarwith parts of a frame, irrespective of the mode in which they areemployed, substantially as described.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The method of constructing the Walls of buildings and other structuresof lath o r any narrow strips of wood put up in two or more paralleltiers or rows with cross-ties of the same secured between the lath bymortar or nails, to be finished by plastering when combined either withthe vacant space or spaces between the tiers or rows of lath, or with afilling of mortar or other material in the said space or spaces, whetherthe entire skeleton Wall be constructed of the lath-work or it becombined with parts of a frame, substantially as described, and for thepurposes specitied.

STILLMAN A. CLEMENS. Witnesses:

S. B. WHITING, W. M. HOUSTON.

